


The Map

by levitatethis



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-17
Updated: 2010-05-17
Packaged: 2017-10-09 12:44:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/87632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levitatethis/pseuds/levitatethis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mohinder's life after Sylar disappears</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Map

_"A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk away from.   
And by those he has walked away from that cause him remorse."   
_ **-Arthur Miller, Timebends**

The new map sits out openly on the desk, markings beginning to clutter up the scaled down representation of New York State.

It is a fitting bookend to the old map board, pushed off to the side; that still marks the locations of countless specials.

This new map traces the movements of only one.

Mohinder knows that Sylar would be honoured.

It has been months since this new map lived only in the darkness under Mohinder's bed. Back then Mohinder had treated it as a personal matter, a weight that only he deserved to carry in some misguided act of penance.

There had been an acceptable chaos in the apartment with Maya's semi-permanent arrival. Nowhere to go, a debilitating and powerful ability she was still learning to control, and Sylar's devastating betrayal stinging her deep, Mohinder had convinced Matt that it would be okay to let Maya stay with them temporarily. Matt, insistent on taking Molly as far away from the danger their lives brought upon her, had agreed to the iffy arrangement against his better judgment, at least for a time being, until he could sort out something better.

This had not only kept Molly near Mohinder, which she had appealed adamantly for much to the confusion of the adults but it also allowed Mohinder the opportunity to work with Maya, studying her ability and gaining as much information about what had happened to Sylar. The other upshot was that with Maya sharing Molly's room the two of them had developed a sisterly bond that did them both well.

In fact one would say there was a restoration of balance to the scales that had been desperately missing, a vague sense of uneasy happiness that drifted through the apartment.

Still stuck between tentative steps and trying to assert his weight with the ever-elusive Company, Mohinder had received the severest of reprimands from Bob for allowing Sylar access to the cure. Those actions had nearly cost Mohinder everything he had worked for. In addition, Sylar's non-death had put Mohinder in a constant state of anxiety, although he did his best to hide this worry from his flatmates.

A morning like any other Mohinder had been reading the newspaper when a small article detailing a recent murder just outside of the city had caught his eye. Sadly it was not the act of murder that had raised the red flag for him but the very conscious word choice describing the act: "unusual trauma to the head." Seemingly benign, Mohinder had still cut out the article and placed it in the drawer of his nightstand.

A few days had passed uneventfully until those same words appeared again in an article about another murder.

And so it began.

Mohinder started to mark down the locations of suspicious murders that used similar terminology: decapitation, seemingly ritualistic, severe head trauma. At the same time he made a list of the victims names.

Alongside the research his father had started, Mohinder began to see the connection amongst a percentage of the strangers that the police would never establish.

Sylar was collecting again.

Ever aware of his own hand in Sylar's new reign (_Why hadn't he called for back up knowing Sylar was alive and well in his flat with Molly as a hostage? Why hadn't he picked up the gun and shot the powerless man when he was rolling his sleeve up to have his blood taken? Why hadn't he tried to inject an air bubble into him? Why had he not grabbed for the gun while Sylar watched him inject Maya with the cure? Why_?), Mohinder's tracking became a quiet obsession. A thought that beat at him daily while he still did his work at The Company, when everyone was asleep in the apartment he would pull out the map he kept hidden and ponder Sylar's moves and increased powers for hours.

Those midnight contemplations transformed themselves into warped bedtime stories. Mohinder could not sleep without the cerebral exercise of virtually hunting down Sylar first.

There was never a happily ever after in the cards.

For weeks Mohinder continued his intellectual chase in secret; stealing hours from what should have been much needed sleep. Knowing Sylar as he did, Mohinder suspected that Sylar knew he was on his trail. This was _their_ game. It was not one that Mohinder had wanted to play but it was a challenge he had accepted. He _had_ to. He _wanted_ to. Despite the mental anguish that accompanied the measure.

And so it went.

Until Molly launched into an apartment wide search for a misplaced book.

Mohinder had come home to find his map carefully laid out on the kitchen table; Molly, Matt and Maya surrounding it, eyes shifting along the coloured dot stickers that Mohinder had so cautiously placed.

The faces that had looked up to greet him were a mixed bag of confusion and accusations. The night that followed was tense as angry words were used like weapons and the disconnect between Mohinder and the others was forced to a head.

Yet in the end there was understanding, or at least a willingness to try to understand.

The map found a permanent home on Mohinder's desk while he found an unlikely support system amongst the people he had tried so hard to protect. Over breakfast in the mornings and late in the evenings after Molly was asleep, Matt, Maya and Mohinder would touch base on anything in the news that could be red flagged and matched to up to the list.

Still no discernable pattern was found, just an increasing list of incredible powers.

Gao Fa Rong, 56 years old; New York City – _solidifying liquids   
_Vincent Rossi, 28 years old; pit stop along I-80W in New Jersey – _breathing underwater   
_Elenor Watson, 49 years old; Scranton, Pennsylvania – _personal force field_   
Declan Bridges, 22 years old; Buffalo, New York – _superspeed _  
Zara Waheeda, 34 years old; Toronto, Ontario – _x-ray vision_

The list went on and there were most likely other names that they hadn't connected to Sylar yet. The dreaded truth was that they were no closer to stopping Sylar; always lagging behind as he grew more powerful.

Molly had gingerly offered to look for him but after her Nightmare Man experience with Maury Parkman, as well as Sylar's personal connection to her parents death, Mohinder and Matt refused to put her through that again.

In any case she had not used her ability since looking for Alejandro and the trauma of seeing Maya shot in front of her as some wayward consequence had had a critical impact on what Molly could still do. It was like her mind was making her ability harder to access in an act of protection. The reality of what she had already been through in her young life was still a sore point between Mohinder and Matt, one neither was willing to revisit any time soon.

Worry turned into frustration with the passing of time and still only limited progress in getting anywhere near Sylar. A sense of foreboding intertwined with the feeling of comfort that came of the necessary, yet increasingly real, unit they had all become.

For Molly's sake they tried to function as normally as possible, but they all knew there was nothing normal about their situation. Despite there being nothing picture perfect about them they were still a family.

************ ********** ********** ********** ************

Over the last few days the mood has gotten edgier. Unspoken words rest at the tips of tongues while faces reveal the dangerous feelings swirling below.

The stickers on the map tell the future.

Sylar is heading back to New York City.

Matt's face declares undeniable payback. Nervous and anxious, he tries to put on a mask of stone cold reserve when the subject of Sylar arises. However there is turmoil written in the crinkle of his eyes as he mentally makes plans to get himself and Molly away as soon as possible as well as preparing for his next possible showdown with Sylar, one in which he aims not to be on the receiving end of his own bullets again.

Maya's face yearns for vengeance. To honour Alejandro, to make a stand for herself; she wants to kill Sylar. She wants to twist his soul inside and out and suffocate him in blackness. The news of his impending return has Maya out of sorts, caught up in thoughts of Gabriel and the reality of Sylar she can barely sit still.

Molly…

Molly watches Mohinder and takes her cue from him. Mohinder knows that the young girl is reading his face and that she sees what Matt and Maya do not as they are overwhelmed by their own worries.

There is a sprinkling of fear behind Molly's eyes but otherwise she appears unaffected by the threat heading their way. Molly is breathing in Mohinder's calm. After all, she _remembers_, very clearly, _that _day.

Mohinder sees it in her eyes.

For all the craziness that had surrounded Molly she had paid close attention to the unexpected closeness between Mohinder and the man who had destroyed part of her life. Maya had been too distraught to make the connection. Molly made no reference to Matt about it later. But she knew what she saw. Sylar had treated Mohinder almost amicably, acting almost friendly.

As long as Mohinder is not fearful for his life neither is she for hers. His concern reminds her to keep her guard up but that is where their paths part from the others.

While Matt and Maya individually plan methods of murder, Mohinder is distracted by something he does not dare say out loud: curiousity.

Only to himself, and even then just barely, does he admit that he wants to discuss with Sylar the extent of the powers he has taken, how he has tracked down the people he killed to steal them from, how he physically knows how to access the abilities and, this is the question that keeps eating at Mohinder, why Sylar keeps coming back to him.

It was not until the most recent visit that this last question gained potency with significance in its meaning. Up until then Mohinder had considered his death a very real possibility, telekinetically pinned to a ceiling while bruised and bleeding suggested nothing otherwise.

Now he is not so sure. In fact he feels nearly certain that Sylar has no interest in killing him. With so many opportunities to do so, Sylar had instead shot Maya with no hesitation. By comparison the interaction between Sylar and him had been a retread of verbal sparring, a mental chess match, each trying to outthink the other. No one else was allowed in.

With the threat of death removed from the equation Mohinder's perspective is slightly altered, tilted off kilter.

Avenging his father is no longer a top priority. Too much has happened since then. There are too many new questions that still need answers.

Mohinder's right index finger rubs along the surface of the latest sticker on the map. Sylar is not far away. He glances over his shoulder.

Matt stomps around the rooms, fidgeting and glaring towards Mohinder and the map. So consumed with his own thoughts they cloud out any chance of reading Mohinder's, a realization that Mohinder is thankful for.

Maya sits with Molly on the chesterfield reading her a story. The words flow melodically in tone but Maya's mind is elsewhere and the words lack any emotional emphasis. Not that Molly notices. Sitting with Maya's arm around her Molly's gaze cuts across the room to Mohinder. For a moment their eyes meet and his finger stops moving, staying in place on top of the sticker. No words are necessary.

Molly offers a small, quick smile. Mohinder subtly nods his head. Molly closes her eyes and tries to focus in on Maya's voice while Mohinder looks back to the map.

He wonders why Sylar is coming back _now_. What is he planning? And what part does Sylar expect him to play in it?

The map is at once a warning and an invitation.

Wreckage lays in the wake of Sylar's travels and his resurfacing will once again influence the path Mohinder will take; possibly even inspire it.

Mohinder's eyes follow his finger as it traces the invisible line between the stickers, moving away from the city, the state, briefly into Canada and now back again.

The strange feeling of not having to worry about his own life is one he cannot explain. On the one hand it makes him worry about everyone else even more, particularly Matt and Maya. He can barely wrap his mind around the battle that will ensue amongst the three of them. So pervasive is the thought that he tries to focus his mind elsewhere. Mohinder certainly worries about what physical punishment and mental manipulations Sylar might try to inflict on him.

Mohinder's poor attempt at being positive says that as long as Molly is kept close to him she should manage to go by unnoticed and unscarred, whereas if she goes with Matt she may unintentionally be put in the path of unknown dangers that lie out there. Better the enemy you know, with the resources that you definitely have at your disposal. That is the only thought that provides Mohinder with any type of solace, and even that is more bitter than sweet.

On the other hand, his almost guaranteed survival means he will be drawn even further into this life that has unfolded around him. It is a life that is as much a result of external forces beyond his control as it is a result of his own choices. Mohinder has limited time to anticipate Sylar's intentions.

Mohinder allows his gaze to wander from the map towards the objects on his desk.   
Almost immediately they find their way to his Company security pass. He reaches for it and places it on top of the map, his eyes taking in the image in front of him.

With a quiet sigh Mohinder leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest, his eyes never leaving the pass and the map.

Motive.

The one he had temporarily filed away in the midst of all the chaos that followed Sylar's last visit and Nathan Petrelli's assassination, was now clear as day.

Sylar is getting ready, organizing, preparing, and with Mohinder still within The Company he is in the perfect position to…

Mohinder looks up again and turns his head towards Molly. Now sleeping in Maya's arms, Mohinder watches her peaceful face. Protecting her is his number one priority. If that means temporarily working with Sylar he would also have the necessary support to start unearthing the truth his employer keeps vaulted way; he could demand it.

Mohinder brings his eyes back to the map.

A warning and an invitation. 


End file.
